Further to my recent post on Plato’s cave, here is a three-minute introduction to the entirety of Plato’s philosophy. It necessarily leaves a few things out, but the cave allegory gets a mention!

Again, this is just an appetiser. It’s no substitute to actually reading one of Plato’s dialogues — I recommend his Symposium, or The Republic for the adventurous. Plato is a “must-read” for anyone desiring a rounded cultural formation. And there’s no time like the summer for some cultural reading!

This introduction to Plato is quite good. So is the “Second Edition” 3-minute introduction to Aristotle, which according to the notes was produced after the author had earned a philosophy degree. He has rescinded his first edition introduction to Aristotle, which was in fact the first video he produced. I’d like to think he’d rescind some of his other videos too. His 3-minute introduction to Galileo, for example, is laden with historical fiction and the predictable anti-Catholic prejudices popularised by Whig revisionists. So, in short: while this introduction to Plato is sound, approach the rest with caution. Their historical inaccuracies obscure any philosophical truths they relate.

Posted on Jan 10, 2013 in Philosophy | Comments Off on Plato in three minutes